1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to the field of control of computer networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for controlling distribution of data packets to one or more computer systems coupled to a network of computers.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has become quite common for organizations to have computer networks spanning large areas and/or including a large number of computer systems. For example, many government, commercial and educational organizations have networks that include hundreds of computers distributed over very large areas. Some of these networks are literally global. The number and distribution of computer systems on such networks makes managing them a difficult and resource intensive task. On top of this difficulty is the increased need for security in many networks. Both the increase in hostile code (e.g., viruses, worms, etc.) and the prevalence of attacks on networks by individuals (e.g., hackers) cause network security to be a high priority in many organizations.
In addition to security concerns, organizations managing a network may desire to have some control over software applications that are installed on computers coupled to the network. Such control may be desirable to ensure software compatibility, licensing control, etc.
Several categories of software tools have been created to help administrators (including network administrators and system or desktop systems administrators) deal with the challenge of configuration management over networks. Some such tools are commonly referred to as enterprise management systems (EMS) or network management systems. An EMS may allow an administrator to control a computer system remotely. Thus, the EMS may allow the administrator to determine the configuration of the computer system. The EMS may also allow the administrator to alter the configuration. For example, the administrator may be able to remotely install software onto a computer system. An EMS may also assist an administrator in overseeing network access functions.
Another category of software tools is the patch management system. Patch management systems are designed to assist an administrator in distributing one or more software updates, or patches, to a number of computer systems substantially simultaneously. The software update process is often done in the background so that a user of the computer system is not affected by the update. Patch management systems may be divided into two categories, agent based and non-agent based. An agent based patch management system requires that an agent application, associated with the patch management system, be installed on each computer system that the patch management system will be updating. In a large network, installing an agent on each computer may be very time consuming and resource intensive. Non-agent based systems do not require an agent; rather, they gather information regarding the computers coupled to the network remotely. This may be problematic at times if the network is not relatively static. Changes in the network may cause the non-agent based patch management system to be unable to access one or more computers on the network.